In the play Antigone the character Isemene is torn between following the rules of Creon and rules of the Gods, regarding whether or not to bury the body of Polynices. This highlights the conflict between law on earth verses higher law and the power of the Gods. Isemene goes through an internal conflict of which of these two ideals and ultimately sides with the law of the Gods. This conflict and Isemene changing attitude towards it show the central theme of the play to be that the laws of the Gods come before the actions of Kings, and when the King violates the law of the Gods it is just to resist this law. Despite Isemene being the sister of Polynices she initially rejects Antigone’s plan to bury him properly at the start of the play, arguing
The beginning of the play begins with Antigone and her sister, Ismene. Antigone presents her plan of burying their brother, Polynices, whose body had been denied a proper burial by their uncle, King Creon, since in his eyes Polynices had been seen as an enemy to the city. Antigone wanted Ismene to accompany her, but Ismene immediately refused in fear of the consequences. Ismene states “We are women and we do not fight with men/ We are subject to them
She demonstrates loyalty to her dead brother, Polynices, which becomes the central conflict of the play and demonstrates the complexities of loyalty. Despite the decree of her uncle King Creeon, who forbids the burial of Polynices and threatens anyone who touches his body, Antigone remains determined to her commitment to honor her brother. “Ismene, my sister, born of the same mother, you, who always share my chamber, do you perceive how Zeus would grant honor to the dead? I mean to give my brother a
In the play, Antigone, the main theme that exists is with rules and order. Creon, the king, decrees that Polyneices should not have a proper burial. He pronounces his law because he believes Polyneices was a traitor. Creon’s law goes against the gods, but he won’t change his mind. With Creon’s injustice, Antigone disregards the law and buries Polyneices. Antigone is given the death penalty, which causes a downfall from Creon’s law. When Teiresias tells Creon that the Gods are mad at him, he refuses to admit his mistake. This relates to the theme in which Creon has to much pride that allows him to pay no attention to the god’s rules. Creon’s law sets the pot of the play where there is a train of tragic events towards the end of the play. Creon
We read that Creon has issued a law that if anyone buries the body of Polyneices they will be sentenced to death. Antigone plans to bury her brother regardless of the law set into place. She is going to try and do it in secrecy and to avoid detection. She asks her sister, Ismene, to join her in the burial, but she refuses. At this point in the play the you realize the fear setting in. Ismene believes
(Sophocles, 1205) Antigone is saying that Polyneices is their brother and even if you deny him we should bury him even if it is illegal. Antigone is all alone when it comes to giving her brother what he deserves. She tries to get support from her sister but she wants nothing to do with it. As Ismene say’s “I will not put dishonor on them, but to act in defiance of the citizenry, my nature does not give me means
Antigone is speaking to Ismene about her plans to bury Polynices, as well as knowing the negative repercussions that will occur from following through with the plans. Nevertheless, she later continues in the book to follow through with it even without the support of Ismene. While talking about her plan to her sister, Antigone says,
Antigone is a very well-developed story that incorporates family structures and conflicts within the text. In this story, tensions seem to rise all because of the arguments within the family. The entire plot of the story can be summarized by the arguments within the family and these arguments sets up the tragic moments of the text. Antigone focuses on the choices of what each family member chooses to follow and how the consequences relates to the choices made. Because of the personalities between the two of the characters are, Creon and Antigone, they set up the main conflicts in the story. They have similar very similar personalities. So, how are the family structures and conflict set up in the story?
The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creon's point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices. He sees Polynices as an enemy to
The play entitled Antigone was written by a man named Sophocles, a scholarly author of philosophy and logic. The play Antigone is probably one of the most prominent interpretations of a tragic drama. The two main characters of the play are Antigone and Creon. There is much conflict between Antigone and Creon throughout the play, both of them having their own ideas and opinions regarding divine law versus human law. The theme that I am going to analyze is the conflict of divine law vs. human law. The reason for this is because this theme seems to control the whole play. It is an issue of which law is the "right" law, and if Creon's and Antigone's acts were justifiable.<br><br>The play Antigone can be summarized by the following: King Creon
In the play, Antigone, Antigone was admitting her consideration of burying Polynices to her sister, Ismene, and tried to convince her to accompany her. Ismene explained to her that she did not want to face the consequences of the decree, so Antigone decided to continue the plan on her own; “I will lie dear to him, with one dear to me,/ a holy outlaw, since I must please those/ below a longer time than other people here,/ for I shall lie there forever. You, though,/ dishonor the gods’ commands, if you wish.” (Sophocles 74-78:16) Antigone tells Ismene that burying Polynices is not only an act of admiration towards Polynices, but will also satisfy the Greek gods.
Antigone was dejected with Creon’s ruling and decided to bury Polynices herself. She tried to enlist Ismene to help her, but Ismene was to afraid. Antigone furiously continued with the plan on her own. A sentry discovered Antigone and brought her to Creon. Ismene was also brought to Creon and confessed that she had helped Antigone with the burial rites of Polynices. Antigone stopped Ismene and told her not to
As the play begins Antigone is just meeting up with her sister and is telling her about the decree of King Creon. Antigone and her sister, Ismene, had two brothers who had killed each other on the battlefield. One of their brothers, Eteocles, was buried with the military honors of a soldier’s funeral, and yet the other, Polyneices, was to be left out to be food for the carrion birds since he died fighting against the city of Thebes. King Creon forbade publicly for anyone to bury the body of Polyneices under the penalty of death. Antigone is now determined to bury her brother and wants Ismene to help her. Ismene does not want to go against what the king has ordered and is fearful of what may become of her if she
The civil war in Syria has caused as many as four million refugees. Trying to restart, many are living in camps of the neighboring countries. There is a drama camp making many express their feelings through acting. One Greek drama, Antigone, tells the story of a young woman who decides to bury her dead brother. He had been left to rot out on the streets for being a bad example. Knowing it was punishable by death, she still did it anyways. Many of the refugees had lost loved ones, so Antigone was one many could relate to. Even though this camp provides release for many, it is very overpopulated and dangerous. They must have decided to soothe the soul more than the body.
The topic I chose to write this essay on is about the examination of the central conflicts that are taking place in the story “Antigone”. Throughout the story and what seems to be the start of many conflicts to come is, Antigone the main character having hard time fathering the fact that she’s not allowed to bury her other brother Polynices. Due to orders given by her uncle Creon. Essentially in the story Antigone struggles with fighting against the social customs of the time, disputes with her sister Ismene, and Creon who represents the state or government and the ultimate enemy.
The play “Antigone” is a tragedy by Sophocles. One main theme of the play is Religion vs. the state. This theme is seen throughout the play. Antigone is the supporter of religion and following the laws of the gods and the king of Thebes, Creon, is the state. In the play Creon has made it against the law to bury Antigone’s brother, something that goes against the laws of the gods, this is the cause of most conflict in the story. This struggle helps to develop the tragic form by giving the reader parts of the form through different characters.